S2 114 

Jopy 1 






A MEMORIAL 



CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, 



ON BEHALF OF THK 



V, 




SUFFERERS FROM THE BOMBARDMENT AND DESTRUCTION OF 

OREYTOWN, OR SAN JUAN DEL NORTE, BY THE 

U. S. SLOOP-OF-WAR CYANE, ON THE 

13th JULY, A.D. 1854; 



NARRATIVE OF EVENTS WHICH TRANSPIRED AT THAT 
PLACE BETWEEN THE YEARS 1852 and 1854. 



/ 

BY 

S. S. WOOD, Commissioner, anv 
W. P. KIRKLAND, Solicitor. 



WASHING-TON, D. Q., JANUARY, 1859. 



NEW- YORK: 

JOHN A. GRAY, PRINTER. & STEREOTYPER, 16 & 18 JACOB ST., 

F I R E - P R O F BUILDINGS. 
1859. 



s^tr ^ y <*:. z _ '"-_" " Z Z ZZZ^Z' • <&.-c^ i e&.-c 




A MEMORIAL 



TO THE 



CONGKESS OF THE UNITED STATES, 



ON BEHALF OP THE 



SUFFERERS FROM THE BOMBARDMENT AND DESTRUCTION OF 

GREYTOWN, OR SAN JUAN DEL NORTE, BY THE 

U. S. SLOOP-OF-WAR CYANE, ON THE 

13th JULY, A.D. 1854; 



NARRATIVE OF EVENTS WHICH TRANSPIRED AT THAT 
PLACE BETWEEN THE YEARS 1852 and 1854. 



BY 

S. S. WOOD, Commissioner, and 
W. P. KIRKLAKD, Solicitor. 



WASHINGTON, D. C, JANUARY, 1859. 



NEW-YORK: 

JOHN A. GRAY, PRINTER & STEREOTYPER, 16 & 18 JACOB ST., 



FIRE-PROOF BUILDING; 



v 0b 




PREFACE AND CERTIFICATE, 



The following pages contain a succinct and correct account of every 
important occurrence which transpired at Greytown, or San Juan del Norte, 
between the year 1852 and the 13th of July, 1854, and which were made 
the basis of certain charges against the local government and inhabitants 
of that place, and resulted in its bombardment and complete destruction by 
Commodore Hollins, of the United States sloop-of-war Oyane, on the last- 
mentioned date. 

The undersigned Commissioner and Solicitor on behalf of the sufferers 
from that disaster, were residents of Greytown and its vicinity within said 
dates, and are not only conversant with the facts presented, but personally 
acquainted with, and place implicit confidence in, the parties who have 
certified to them. And we certify in the most solemn manner to the cor- 
rectness thereof. 

S. S. Wood, Commissioner. 

W. P. Kirkland, Solicitor. 



No^u. — The original and certified copies of documents, as well as evi- 
dence of the existence of the conspiracy referred to in the following narra- 
tive, are in the possession of, and can be seen by applying to, the under- 
signed in the city of "Washington. S. S. W. 

January, 1859. W. P. K. 



A MEMORIAL 



TO THE 



(MGKESS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



To the Honorable the Members of Congress of the United States of 
America. 

Gentlemen : We, the undersigned Commissioners, appointed by 
and on behalf of the residents and non-residents of Greytown, or San 
Juan del Norte, who suffered losses and damages by the destruction 
by bombardment and fire of the said city by the United States naval 
forces, under the command of Commander George N. Hollins, of the 
United States sloop-of-war, Cyane, on the thirteenth day of July, A.D. 
1854; 

Would respectfully represent unto your honorable body, that on 
the thirteenth day of July, in the year one thousand eight hundred 
and fifty-four, the United States sloop-of-war Cyane, commanded by 
Commander George N. Hollins, bombarded, and afterwards deliber- 
ately set fire by torches to the entire destructible property of the 
said city of Greytown, or San Juan del Norte, thereby causing great 
loss of property, as well as sickness, disease, and loss of life, occa- 
sioned by the exposure necessarily attendant upon the total destruc- 
tion of the habitable buildings, whereby hundreds of women and 
children were exposed at the most sickly season of the year. We, 
the undersigned, would most respectfully represent that said bom- 
bardment and subsequent burning of this city was a great wrong, and 
totally at variance with the facts of the case. And we would also 
represent and prove that the citizens of this place had committed no 
wrong either upon the property or persons of any citizen of the 
United States. 



VI 

We would therefore respectfully ask that your honorable body 
would appoint a Committee to examine into this matter, and we 
would respectfully ask that the official communications of Commodore 
Parker, Captain Pendegrast, Captain Green of the Decatur, Captain 
Pratt, Captain Geary of the Albany, and H. L. Stevenson, Esq., 
late Vice Commercial Agent for the United States, should be called 
for and examined — all of said officers having been at this place offi- 
cially at different times during the years 1851, 1852, 1853, and 
1854. And we would also ask that all the official documents in 
regard to this place now in the archives of the government of the 
United States, should be fully examined ; and we are confident" that 
upon such examination we shall b® most fully able to prove that 
the citizens of Greytown, or San Juan del Norte, have been wholly 
innocent of any of the charges made against them by Mr. Borland, 
Commander Hollins, Mr. Pabens, or the Transit Company, by their 
agents, Joseph L. White or Joseph N. Scott. 

And we would respectfully ask that an appropriation sufficient to 
pay the losses and damages should be awarded to the unfortunate 
sufferers. 

The undersigned would therefore place the wrongs of themselves 
and fellow-sufferers before your honorable body, hoping that you will 
take into consideration their unfortunate condition, and render them 
prompt justice and speedy relief. 

Your memorialists beg leave to sign themselves 
Your obedient servants, 
Felix Mancho, M. Cordeviola, 

John Leeee, Aug. Knipping, 

Samuel Shepherd, Juan Mesnier, 

Samuel S. Wood. 
Greytown, or San" Juan del Norte, Oct. 21, 1858 



NARRATIVE. 



About the latter part of July, A.D. 1854, the citizens of the United 
States were startled at the intelligence that the defenseless town of 
Greytown, or San Juan del Norte, a community composed principally 
of American citizens, who had located there for commercial purposes 
and other legal traffic, had been bombarded and destroyed by lighted 
torch at the hands of Commander Hollins of the United Sates sloop- 
of-war Cyane. 

At the time of the occurrence the inhabitants of Greytown sus- 
pected the parties and their object who had influenced the United 
States Government to destroy them ; and they are now in possession 
of evidence that there then existed a secret interest, which had con- 
spired to deceive the government at Washington. 

We will narrate the history of the town, and faithfully record oc- 
currences as they took place. 

Upon the opening of the gold mines of California, the port of Grey- 
town, or San Juan del Norte, until then almost unknown, became a 
place of considerable importance ; and it has since been, and is still, 
a source of perplexity to and a bone of contention between the gov- 
ernments of England and the United States, the former having acquired 
possession and influence by virtue of its Mosquito protectorate, and 
the latter being directly interested by virtue of a charter, granted by 
the Republic of Nicaragua to an association of her citizens for the 
construction of an inter-oceanic canal through the territory of Nica- 
ragua and the waters of the San Juan river and Lake Nicaragua. 

It was quite natural that citizens from the United States should 
have been imbued with the same ideas and sentiments as were 
avowed by that Government, namely, that the port of San Juan 



8 NARRATIVE, 

legitimately belonged to the State of Nicaragua, and ought, in just- 
ice, to return to her. This sentiment was sharpened in the minds of 
the American citizens and other residents, in consequence of the al- 
most impossibility of their purchasing eligible building-sites, these 
having been either sold to or held in trust for non-residents, who, with 
few exceptions, would neither build upon nor sell them, but exacted 
enormous ground-rents for the privilege of building in a place barren 
of business, except such as accrued from an American travel, inci- 
dental to an American enterprise and investment, in changing an un- 
productive thoroughfare into a channel of money-making. Nor was 
the administration of the Government any more acceptable to them 
than was the tenure by which the lands were held. 

The government of the United States having become an arbiter in 
the question of sovereignty, the American with the other foreign and 
native residents, espoused her views, and therefore considered Nica- 
ragua competent to grant their wishes. For this purpose a public 
meeting was called, and attended by almost every male resident of 
the place, when resolutions were adopted and a delegation of fif- 
teen residents appointed to proceed to Managua, with a view of ob- 
taining from the Government of Nicaragua certain municipal priv- 
ileges for the government of the port. Before, however, the dele- 
gates could obtain conveyance to the capital, Captain Green, of the 
United States corvette Decatur, received from the Hon. Daniel Web- 
ster, then Secretary of State, a dispatch (see Document A, also ori- 
ginal Dispatch in State Department) warning the citizens from the 
United States of their position in a foreign country, and discounte- 
nancing their efforts in attempting to change the^a^, and commanding 
their obedience to the then Mosquito authorities. At this stage of 
affairs, Dr. James Green, Her British Majesty's Consul-General for 
Mosquito, by public notice, (see Document B,) called the inhabitants 
together ; and in his address to the meeting surrendered to them the 
local government of the port ; and a committee was appointed to frame 
a constitution for the future government of the place. 

About the twenty-ninth of March, 1852, Messrs. W. B. Gerring, W. 
P. Kirkland, Joseph Perez, Nicholas Bolvin, W. H. De Forrest, R. 
W. Mackay, Leon Mancho, Juan Mesnier, and M. B. Jarownicki, de- 
legates appointed at a previous meeting to draft a constitution, re- 
ported the following, (see Document C,) which was unanimously 
adopted ; and an election of* officers was held under its provisions ; 
arid of the ten elected officers, who served that year, eight were Ame- 
ricans, one Englishman, and one Scotsman. 



NARRATIVE. 9 

The new government went into operation without any reference to 
the question of sovereignty, or in any way connected with the flag. 

A few days after the new government entered upon its duties, a 
copy of the new constitution was received from the British Consul, 
with marginal notes, requiring the City Council so to amend that in- 
strument as to acknowledge Mosquito sovereignty. To this the 
Council replied that they had neither the power nor the will to make 
the alteration — that the constitution had been ratified by the people, 
was their property and the fundamental law of the place, and could 
only be amended according to the mode therein provided. 

Shortly after this, Admiral McQuade of the British Navy, arrived 
in the harbor and paid an official visit to the City Council, and stated 
that he had been ordered there by his government for the purpose of 
conferring with Commodore Parker of the United States Navy, with 
reference to the future government of the port ; but as the Commo- 
dore had not met him, and he found a new government installed, he 
was desirous of knowing by what means it had come into power. To 
which the following resolution gave reply : 

" Extra Session, June 6, 1852. Be it ordained by the Common 
Council in Session, that we, deeming it necessary, under the present 
unsettled state of the Territorial jurisdiction, to define the position of 
the present local government, and to satisfy all whom it may con- 
cern, do hereby acknowledge that we exercise authority as the gov- 
ernment of this city, by virtue of , the public voice of the citizens of 
this city, as given at a public meeting of the citizens, called for that 
purpose, at which meeting the constitution under which we act was 
passed, and the present government elected : all of which was done 
with the consent and sanction of Her Britannic Majesty's Consul at 
this port. And that we maintain a neutral position so far as regards 
the negotiations now in progress between Great Britain and the 
United States in relation to this city and territory. Unanimously 
adopted." 

The above resolution satisfied his inquiry; but he desired a recog- 
nition of Mosquito sovereignty. As the Government, however, 
would neither deny nor affirm the right of any of the claimants to 
sovereignty, he expressed himself Well satisfied with the new govern- 
ment, and made a formal recognition of it. 

The new government concluded to discharge its trust with implicit 
neutrality, even to the adoption of both the English and Spanish 
name, (Greytown, or San Juan del Norte,) and also as to sovereignty 
and territorial jurisdiction, so much so, that Mr. Molina, Envoy Ex- 
traordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Costa Rica to the govern- 



10 KARRATIVE. 

ment at Washington, expressed to Mr. Crampton, then English min- 
ister to the same government, a willingness to surrender on the part 
of Costa Rica, her claim of jurisdiction over the north bank of the 
harbor and river of San Juan to its confluence with the Colorado to 
the local government of Greytown, which proposition was acquiesced 
in by Mr. Crampton ; but as some of the parties to the treaty failed 
to ratify it, the matter remained in statu quo. 

The new government was harmonious and all its acts acceptable to 
all persons interested in the commerce of the port, except the pro- 
prietors and agents of the Accessory Transit Company, who claimed 
an exemption from the usual port dues, by virtue of a charter de- 
rived from Nicaragua. But as Captain Pratt of the United States 
sloop-of-war Albany, and Captain Green of the United States cor- 
vette Decatur, considered the charter inoperative as regarded the mat- 
ter and port of Greytown, inasmuch as the port was under a foreign 
jurisdiction at the time the charter was granted, and consequently all 
Nicaraguan jurisdiction suspended — that the exemption claimed was 
inoperative, and would remain so until the question of sovereignty 
should terminate favorable to Nicaragua. Besides, as the Hon. Sec- 
retary of State had counselled American citizens in Greytown to 
obey the local Mosquito authority, they could not see that the com- 
pany who occupied lands, obtained from the same government, had 
any claim of exemption of obedience to the same authority, and 
they therefore compelled the captains of the Company's steamers to 
pay the eleven dollars port dues. 

Nothing of importance occurred until January of the ensuing year, 
when several cases of small-pox occurred among the passengers on 
board the Company's steamers, who, in consequence of the refusal of 
the commanders of the Company's ocean steamers to receive them 
on board, and their ejection from the Company's premises by its 
Agent, were thrown upon the charity of the town, it was decided that 
a quarantine Hospital Lighthouse and Powder Magazine should be 
erected on the opposite bank of the harbor. In the month of Febru- 
ary, same year, the Company were notified that the lands they occu- 
pied would be required for the above purpose. Not attending to said 
notice, they were duly cited to appear before the Mayor, and show 
cause why they should not vacate and remove from said lands. 

Upon the day of trial, Mr. Baldwin, the resident Agent of the Com- 
pany, appeared, and expressed a desire to comply with the wishes of 
the government, not denying its right to the property, yet stated that 
his instructions were, not to recognize the local government, and 



NARRATIVE. 11 

therefore he could not vacate the land in question. The Court de- 
cided against the Company, and notified that in case the Hotel Build- 
ing, erected beyond the limits assigned for their Coal Dep6t, was not 
removed within ten days, and all their sheds, etc., within twenty days 
thereafter, they would be removed by the Mayor's forces. The 
Agent refusing to comply, within the prescribed time, the first-named 
building was removed, in a quiet and orderly manner, by the City 
Marshal, and every parcel laid away in the manner and place required 
by the Agent — the owner of the building being absent. Before, how- 
ever, the expiration of the time for the removal of the other sheds, 
etc., the United States sloop-of-war Cyane came into port, and by her 
interference, prevented the authorities from carrying the mandates of 
the Court into effect. 

In consequence of this interference on the part of the United States 
forces, and the non-recognition of the new government, although ac- 
knowledged by Great Britain, and the other claimants of sovereignty 
as well as by the United States Government, in appointing Mr. W. 
F. Boon Commercial Agent at Greytown, and accrediting Mr. H. L. 
Stevenson to the same office, the authorities resigned, and Commander 
Hollins virtually assumed all authority, and issued a proclamation 
accordingly. 

At the expiration of a few days, at the solicitation of the British 
Consul, and with the consent and approval of Commander Hollins, 
the resigning officers of the government resumed office, with the ex- 
press understanding, (as will fully appear by reference to Commander 
Hollins' letter to the Mayor, marked, D,) " that the jurisdiction of 
Greytown, or San Juan del Norte, as far as regards the preservation 
of peace and order, and the punishment of aggression, was fully ac- 
knowledged by the governments of Great Britain and the United 
States, in the persons of James Green, Esq., and Commander Hol- 
lins." The inhabitants being thus informed that no dispute, as to au- 
thority, should exist, except as regarded sovereignty, felt gratified, in 
at last having, as they supposed, their government unmistakably re- 
cognized by the Great Republic. 

About this time the Company appointed Captain Abraham Banker, 
the resident Agent at Greytown, with whom both the government 
and inhabitants remained on the best of terms. This harmony was, 
however, broken by the appointments of Joseph N. Scott to the Com- 
pany's Agency, and of J. W. Fabens to the Commercial Agency, by 
the United States Government, in room of Mr. Stevenson. Pre- 
vious to these last appointments, the United States Commercial 
Agent had frequently called upon the authorities to assist him in the 



12 NARRATIVE. 

discharge of his official duties, and like services were also rendered to 
the commanders of the Company's ocean steamers. Besides, the 
Agent of the Company frequently applied to the Courts, to urge ful- 
fillment of contracts by parties with whom they had contracted for 
work, etc., while several of their employes exercised the elective 
franchise. 

The new Agent, Joseph N. Scott, by his hostility to, and total dis- 
regard of the authorities, as also by blocking up the channel of the 
river, to the detriment of the harbor, and the owners of water-lots, 
soon produced a crisis. 

Not long after, an occurrence took place, which soon assumed a 
serious aspect. A colored man, named McGrath, in the employ of 
the Company, was discharged by Mr. Scott. He applied to, and ob- 
tained from, an overseer or manager of Mr. Scott's, the loan of a 
boat to remove his family and effects to town, without Mr. Scott's 
knowledge or consent. Mr. Scott observed McGrath leaving the 
shore, and hailed him to return, but he continued his course, when 
Mr. Scott ordered an employe of the Company, named Sloman, to 
pursue and bring McGrath back, but was unable to overtake him 
until he had landed in the town. Some words passed between Sloman 
and a man named Eeed, and the latter was knocked down by Sloman, 
who also attempted to strike McGrath, but was prevented by the by- 
standers. On the sixth of May, a warrant was issued for the arrest 
of Sloman, but the Marshal, in enforcing it, was resisted by Mr. 
Scott, and compelled to retire. Being reinforced, he returned, and 
succeeded in arresting Sloman, and conveyed him to court, where 
he was soon followed by Scott, and bailed out by J. W. Fabens. Mr. 
Scott was also arrested for resisting the Marshal in the discharge of 
his duty. Upon Mr. Scott's release, he made a lengthy protest (see 
Hoc. E) before J. W. Fabens, a copy of which was filed with the 
Mayor. 

The borrowing of the yawl-boat, with the arrest of Scott and Slo- 
man, constituted a claim for damages, amounting to sixteen thousand 
dollars, and the removal of Captain McCerren's hotel, erected on 
government land, and valued by its previous owner, Captain Banker, 
at seven hundred dollars, was valued at eight thousand dollars, mak- 
ing a total of $&4,000, demanded by J. W. Fabens, (See Doc. F,) 
the non-payment of which sum resulted in the bombardment, and sub- 
sequent destruction of Greytown, and entailed an amount of suffering 
too horrible to relate. 

Shortly after the above occurrences, Captain Smith, in command of 
the Company's steamer "Ruth," for little or no provocation, de- 



NARRATIVE. 13 

liberately murdered, within the jurisdiction of the town, a native 
Nicaraguan, named Antonio Paladino, commander of a bungo, by- 
shooting him through the heart, in presence of the honorable Solon 
Borland, a retired minister of the United States to the Eepublic of 
Nicaragua ; Mr. Wiedeman, Hamburg Consul ; Mr. W. L. Miller, 
Agent of Mr. George Law, and a number of other passengers. [For 
full particulars of the occurrence, see annexed statements, marked G, 
H, and I, and report of Coroner's inquest, marked J. 

The bungo, containing the body of the murdered man, returned to 
Greytown, where a coroner's inquest was held, and the following ver r 
diet rendered : " After taking into consideration the testimony of the 
different witnesses, find that deceased came to his death by a shot, 
fired from a weapon in the hands of Captain Smith, this 16th day of 
May, 1854. Signed by E. F. Mason, -U. S. Vice Commercial Agent, 
W. Rogers, master of the bark Martha Clark, George R. Hughes, an 
employe of the Company ; Oscar Peter, Levaille, Dr. Diezmann, and 
J. B. Lyons, resident citizens of the town." A warrant was then 
issued, and placed in the hands of the Marshal, who with a posse of 
men proceeded to arrest Captain Smith. When arrested he had a 
weapon in his hand, but seemed willing to accompany the officer, (see 
Doc, K,) but Mr. Borland came up and released Smith, and declared 
that the American government did not recognize the authorities of 
the town, and as minister of that government, could call to his aid 
every passenger on board the steamer, and shoot down every one of 
t hem. Then, upon seeing a boat approaching, with a force to support 
the Marshal, he seized a gun from a bystander, and levelled it at the 
parties in the boat, which acts and threats caused the Marshal and 
his party to return without the, murderer. 

In the evening of the same day, Mr, Borland, accompanied by Mr. 
Scott's son, visited the U. S. Commercial Agency ; and soon after it 
was reported that Mr. Borland and Captain Smith were there, when 
an excited crowd assembled about the house, and demanded Smith's 
surrender. They also demanded entrance to the house, but were for- 
bidden by Mr. Fabens, and threatened by Mr. Borland, that he would 
shoot the first man who attempted it. At this juncture Mayor Si- 
gaud, who had been informed of the disturbance, came up, and was 
asked by Mr. Borland if he had authorized his arrest. The Mayor 
replied that he had not, and that the acts of the crowd, which he or- 
dered to disperse, were unauthorized by him. At the same time, he 
apologized to Mr. Borland, and stated that he had only issued a war- 
rant for the arrest of Smith ; whereupon Mr. Borland declared that 
he would not allow the arrest of Smith, even if he had committed 



14 NARRATIVE. 

murder. (See Doc. L.) During this conversation a missile was 
thrown by some one in the crowd, which struck Mr. Borland on the 
cheek, inflicting a slight wound, and the Mayor and Mr. J. B. Lyons 
immediately offered a reward of fifty dollars each for the discovery of 
the delinquent; (see Doc. L,) and on the following day the city attor- 
ney addressed a note (see Doc. M) to Mr. Fabens, inquiring as to his 
knowledge of the perpetrator, but he was also unknown to him, and 
up to the present time there is no knowledge of his identity, although 
suspicion pointed to Alexander Johnson, a deserter from an American 
war vessel, in consequence of certain threats made by him as to Mr. 
Borland ; which suspicion was strengthened by his subsequent flight 
from the town, on the arrival of Commander Hollins, and who, we 
believe, was acting in the capacity of carpenter on board the United 
States sloop-of-war Savannah, in November last. 

On the eleventh of July, 1854, the United States sloop-of-war Cy- 
ane entered the Port, when Commander Hollins immediately com- 
municated with the Commercial Agent, who in the evening of the 
same day prepared his note and demand for indemnity addressed " to 
those now or lately pretending to, and exercising authority in San 
Juan del Norte," and delivered the same to Ex -Mayor Sigaud on the 
following morning. To which note no reply was made. On the same 
day on which the notice was served on the Mayor, (twelfth of May,) 
Commander Hollins issued his proclamation, (see Doc. N,) declaring 
his intention to bombard the town at nine o'clock on the following 
morning, unless the demand made by Mr. Fabens should be complied 
with. About eleven o'clock on the same day, a body of seamen and 
marines from the Cyane landed in the town, and took possession of 
all the arms and ammunition found in the station-house, and occupied 
the rest of the day in removing the furniture and effects (excepting an 
iron safe) from the house of Mr. Fabens, and also those of Captain 
Mancosos, an employe of the Company. 

About half-past six o'clock of the morning of the day of bombard- 
ment, one of the Company's river steamers arrived at the wharf for 
the purpose of removing the families and effects of Mr. Wiedeman, 
the Hamburg Consul, and Messrs. A. De Barruel & Co. No pre- 
vious notice of such assistance having been given them, they were, 
owing to the want of time, as well as the small dimensions of the 
steamer, unable to avail themselves of the proffered aid. A few per- 
sons, however, living in the vicinity of the wharf, embraced the oppor- 
tunity to escape the coming danger, leaving the principal part of their 
effects behind. In fact, the sending of the boat was a mere sham, as 
the Company's Agent refused refuge and conveyance to several who 



NARRATIVE. 15 

sought to avail themselves of its use. Besides, the steamer could not 
in a month have removed the goods and merchandise in the various 
stores and warehouses to the distance of one hundred rods, nor could 
she within a week have removed the effects of Messrs. Wiedeman & 
Bischor, and A. De Barruel & Co., to whom particularly her ser- 
vices were offered. 

At nine o'clock on the same morning the guns 'of the Cyane were 
brought to bear upon the defenseless and deserted town, and the firing 
continued at intervals with but little damage until four o'clock in the 
afternoon, when a force was landed from the sloop, who, by applying 
lighted torches to every house except one, which stood at the farthest 
extremity of the town, soon completed the work of destruction. 

We have faithfully chronicled every important occurrence which 
took place at San Juan del Norte from the month of April, 1852, up 
to the time the town was destroyed, and will conclude our remarks by 
referring briefly to the position taken by the late Mr. Marcy, then 
Secretary of State, in his reply to the French Minister. 

Not being in possession of Mr. Marcy's letter, we can not fully 
reply to it, but remember the most particular items thereof to be to 
the following effect : That the community of San Juan was a piratical 
one, and had committed frequent depredations upon the persons and 
property of citizens of the United States, and wantonly insulted the 
agents and authorities of that government; that "they had no legal 
jurisdiction, and that persons unconnected with the government, who 
had been offered facilities for the removal of their effects, and rejected 
them, could not claim exemption from punishment, but must suffer 
alike with the guilty. These, we believe, are in substance the princi- 
pal points in Mr. Marcy's letter of justification; but instead of dis- 
cussing these, we will content ourselves by simply controverting his 
supposed facts — by impeaching the testimony furnished him. 

The charge of piracy we totally deny. No piratical act was ever 
committed or countenanced either by the local government or any 
resident of Grey town ; and if the Mosquito flag was illegal, they are 
not answerable therefor, said flag never having been recognized or 
used by them in any shape whatever, but planted there by the British 
Government, who wrested the territory from the Eepublic of Nicara- 
gua, in January, 1848, and which flag is still used by them in their 
protectorate capacity over the entire Mosquito coast. (See Constitu- 
tion, marked C, and resolution of City Council in reply to Admiral 
McQuade and Consul Green.) Nineteen twentieths of the population 
were opposed to the existence of said flag, and among the American 



16 NARRATIVE. 

residents it had only one supporter, and steps were being taken for 
its removal when the dispatch (See Doc. A) of the Hon. Daniel Web- 
ster was received. In it they were warned against so doing, and 
commanded to pay implicit obedience to the flag and the authorities 
acting under it; and they were likewise informed "that it was not 
against the policy of the United States Government to recognize any 
well-intended Government for the correction of evil-doers." 

Taking into view also the demand made by the United States 
Government, through Mr. Fabens, for payment of twenty-four thou- 
sand dollars damages for acts charged against the local government, 
we can not for a moment suppose that Mr. Marcy seriously believed 
the community of Greytown was a piratical one, for if he had, he 
would have proceeded in the usual way against pirates, and not have 
given them an opportunity of escaping by the payment of money. 

The charge of having committed depredations upon the persons and 
property of United States citizens is also denied. The local govern- 
ment, in causing the arrest of Thomas Baldwin, and binding him to 
keep the peace for an attempted assault on David Samooda, as also 
in arresting Sloman and Joseph N. Scott, were actuated by a desire 
to promote peace and order among the community, and were justified 
in so doing, and were in accordance with the views expressed by Mr. 
Webster in his dispatch relative to the policy of the American Gov- 
ernment, which declaration was, aside from principles of justice, suf 
ficient to warrant them in arresting Smith for the murder of Paladino 
within their local jurisdiction ; and they have never interfered with 
any citizen of the United States in the enjoyment of his legal rights. 

The Atlantic and Pacific Canal Company, which afterwards merged 
into the Accessory Transit Company, through their authorized agent, 
applied to the Mosquito Government for leave to occupy a lot of 
ground, two hundred by four hundred feet in extent, on the opposite 
side of the harbor, as a coal depot, and received permission so to do, 
on the twelfth of June, 1851, (See Doc. O,) at a nominal rent of 
sixpence sterling per month. While an employe of the Company 
erected a hotel or bar-room outside of the leased land without the 
consent of the Government. 

The land in question being afterwards required by the local Gov- 
ernment for the purpose of erecting a Quarantine, etc., as before men- 
tioned, the Company were required to vacate. Refusing to do so, 
they were brought into Court, where the matter being decided against 
them, they were about being removed by the authorities when Com- 
mander Hollins interfered. The hotel, however, had been removed 



NARRATIVE. 17 

by the City Marshal previous to the interference. For these acts, 
the local Government claim to have had legal authority. 

As to having wantonly insulted, or treated with disrespect, any 
officer of the United States Government, nothing can be more foreign 
to the truth. National pride and feeling in the breast of every Ame- 
rican, as well as the native Nicaraguans, who at that, time considered 
the United States the strong friend and arbiter of the cause of Nica- 
ragua, would have caused them to oppose and prevent any attempt 
on the part of the local government to commit so unwise and discour- 
teous an act. Besides, their own defenseless position would have for- 
bidden such a course. 

It will be borne in mind that Mr. Borland, who had represented 
the United States Government at that of Nicaragua, had resigned his 
commission before he left the capital of that state, and had so in- 
formed his Government, and was, at the time of Smith's arrest for 
the murder of Paladino, on his way home ; and his conduct in 
espousing the cause of the guilty, and threatening with violence the 
officer charged with the execution of a warrant emanating from an 
authority recognized by that distinguished statesman, the Honorable 
Daniel Webster, and the United States Government, as well as the 
formal recognition of the local government of the town by the Gov- 
ernment of Great Britain and the Hanseatic Towns, was neither cre- 
ditable to himself nor the great Eepublic from which he hailed. Nor 
is it by any means clear that he did not by words spoken stimulate 
Smith to the commission of the deed, thereby rendering himself ac- 
cessory thereto. As to the insult and wound received from an un- 
known hand, these were likely to have resulted any where, and to 
any person who made use of such violent and threatening language as 
Mr. Borland did upon the occasion referred to, while the dispersal of 
the crowd by the Mayor, and offer of reward both by him and Mr. 
Lyons for the discovery of the perpetrator of the deed, distinctly 
prove that the acts of the crowd were in no ways authorized by the 
city government. 

The charge of want of legal jurisdiction requires but a passing 
notice. It is proper for a government, as well as its duty, while in 
possession of a foreign territory, to enact and enforce such laws for 
the better protection of the interests of the inhabitants thereof, as it 
may deem necessary ; and it can with propriety delegate either the 
whole or part of its authority to another party, for the same purpose. 
We therefore hold, that the Mosquito Protectorate Government, in 
delivering over to the inhabitants of Grey town the jurisdiction there- 
of, was fully justified, and the formation by them of a local govern 
2 



18 NARRATIVE. 

ment, recognized by the various claimants of sovereignty, rendered 
its enactments as full of force as if they had emanated from the Nica- 
raguan or Mosquito Governments. 

Nor had the inhabitants any idea that the United States Govern- 
ment regarded them as an illegal community, or in any way antago- 
nistical to her views, until the same was made known by a boast of 
Mr. C. Gushing, an agent of the Accessary Transit Company, at Virgin 
Bay, on the second of July, 1854, nine days previous to the arrival 
of Commander Hollins at Greytown, " that he had been informed by 
letter from Mr. Joseph White, who had the ears of the Cabinet at 
Washington, that the Cyane would during the month arrive at Grey- 
town, for the purpose of its bombardment." 

As to the facilities offered for the escape of residents and removal 
of their effects, and by them rejected, we have before stated that it 
was a mere sham — otherwise, timely notice and a sufficient number of 
boats would have been tendered for that purpose. 

The evidence upon which the United States Government acted in 
causing the destruction of Greytown, and which ended in ruin to the 
inhabitants, and serious loss to mercantile houses in various commer- 
cial cities both in this country and in Europe, was furnished by Com- 
mander Hollins, Minister Borland, and Consul Fabens, almost every 
one of whom has, to a greater or less degree, incurred the displeasure 
of their Government, and the almost unanimous condemnation of the 
public press and people ; and their evidence should be taken with 
some degree of caution, particularly as Commodore Parker, Captains 
Pendegrast, Pratt, Green, and Gerry, Minister Walsh, W. F. Boon, 
and H. L. Stevenson, United States Commercial Agents at Grey- 
town, all of whom are in good standing with their Government and 
the public, were familiar with the local government and inhabitants 
of Greytown, as well as most of the occurrences recorded, and never 
witnessed any of the vicious and lawless acts attributed to that com- 
munity by the three first-named individuals. 

We do not mean to say that misdeeds were never committed at 
Greytown ; the local government being formed for the suppression 
and punishment of such, and it was no ways tardy in punishing 
offenders, except when interfered with by the United States Govern- 
ment, as before mentioned. 

Since the destruction of the town, the local government has been 
less prompt and efficient in its course of action, owing to its circum- 
scribed authority, if any be conceded it, by the United States Gov- 
ernment. But notwithstanding this, it is at the present time, and has 
been for the last seven years, the most efficient if not the only govern- 



NARRATIVE. 19 

ment in Central America where freedom, and protection of life and 
property, are fully enjoyed. 

Objection has been made to the existence of Greytown on account 
of its large colored population ; but the same can be urged with equal 
force against every government of Spanish America. 

As to their enjoyment of equal civil and political rights with the 
white man, all of them under their own native governments possessed 
the same ; and for the local government of Greytown to have ejected 
them in consequence of color, would have given offense not only to 
foreign governments, but to the respective claimants of sovereignty, 
and would have produced an outward pressure too great for that small 
and defenseless community to have successfully resisted. 

With these remarks, we leave our cause to the decision of a Con- 
gress of our country, the public verdict having been promptly given 
in our favor at the time of the occurrences complained of. 

S. S. Wood, Commissioner. 
W. P. Kirkland, Solicitor. 



DOCUMENTS. 



A. 

ADMITTING- BIGHT OF GREAT BRITAIN TO PROTECT 
GREYTOWN. 

Washington, March 18, 1852. 

Sir : This Department learns with much concern that an assem- 
blage of persons, styling themselves citizens of San Juan de Nicaragua, 
(or Greytown,) was held at that place on the 28th ultimo, which 
reported resolutions to send a deputation to the capital of the Eepublic 
of Nicaragua, for the purpose of soliciting from the Government of 
that Eepublic a charter for San Juan, and directing the delegates to 
obtain a proper guarantee of protection from that Government for all 
property for which a proper consideration has been paid. 

It is obvious that, in taking this step, these persons have been un- 
mindful of the fact that the Eepublic of Nicaragua has not been in 
possession of the port of San Juan since 1848. Whatever, therefore, 
may at any time have been her abstract right of jurisdiction over that 
port, she can not, as a party adverse to the one now in possession, 
grant any privileges or franchises to a third party, in respect to that 
place. Although those who moved and adopted the resolutions above 
referred to call themselves citizens of San Juan de Nicaragua, they 
must, so far as that proceeding goes, be considered as that party. 
This department is not informed how many of those who took part in 
that proceeding had been citizens of the United States. It is not im- 
probable, however, that a majority of them had been so, and that they 
were not fully sensible of the serious consequences which might result 
therefrom. It is quite obvious that those persons who attended the 
meeting, and who had been citizens of the United States, have gone 
to Greytown with the purpose of settling and abiding at that place. 
They have placed themselves under a foreign jurisdiction, and whether 
it be the jurisdiction of the Mosquito Indians, under the protection of 
England or of Nicaragua, they can not lawfully claim the protection 
of this Government, as being citizens of the United States. Very 
serious consequences may happen to them if they undertake to estab- 
lish a new authority at Greytown, under present circumstances ; and 
you will request the commander of the United States vessel at Grey- 
town to make the contents of this communication fully and imme- 
diately known to the persons who acted a leading part in the meeting 



DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 21 

which has been referred to, in order that they may have timely 
warning. 

They will not be countenanced by the Government in any attempt, 
forcibly or otherwise, to subvert the acting authorities. They should 
be informed that a further and perhaps sufficient reason for forbearance 
on their part is the fact, of which you have already been apprized, that 
negotiations are on foot here, which, it is hoped, will soon be con- 
cluded, by which the objects they have sought to obtain from Nicara- 
gua may, perhaps, be compassed without impediment from any quar- 
ter. It is well understood that Great Britain is fully committed to 
protect Greytown, as belonging to the Mosquito Indians; and it is not 
at all probable that she would see Nicaraguan authority, or any other 
authority, take possession till pending negotiations are closed. 

An instruction of a similar tenor will be addressed by Her Britan- 
nic Majesty's Minister here to the commander of the British vessels 
of war at Greytown, and to the British Consul there, directing them 
to give a like warning to British subjects who may have taken part 
in the proceedings above referred to. It would also be advisable 
that the naval commanders of the respective nations at San Juan 
should have a friendly understanding as to the best means of preserv- 
ing peace and order, and preventing violence of any kind at that place. 

I am, etc., 
(Signed) DANIEL WEBSTER. 



PUBLIC NOTICE. 



The householders, freeholders, and tax-payers of the City of Grey- 
town are respectfully invited to attend a public meeting on Monday 
the 29th instant, at 7 o'clock P.M., at the Union Hotel, for the pur- 
pose of modifying and revising the present Constitution, and of 
making proper arrangements for the approaching election of the 15th 
April next. James Green, Chairman of the City Council. 

David Kilpatrick, Secretary of the City Council. 

Greytown, 27 March, 1852. 



C. 
PREAMBLE. 



We, the native and adopted citizens of Greytown or San Juan del 
Norte, in Central America, in order to establish a suitable Govern- 
ment, to secure the blessings of liberty, establish justice, insure 
demestic tranquillity, and promote the general welfare, do adopt the 
following Constitution for the City of Greytown or San Juan del 
Norte, and define the boundaries of the same as follows : 



22 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 

BOUNDARIES. 

Commencing at the mouth of Indian River, thence running up 
through the channel of said River fifteen miles, thence in a direct line 
so as to include the head of the Machuca Rapids, thence down the 
San Juan River to its junction with the Colorado, thence down the 
channel of the Colorado River to the Caribbean Sea. 

ARTICLE I. 

Declaration of Bights. 

Section 1. All men are by nature possessed of certain inalienable 
rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and 
liberty, acquiring and protecting property, and securing happiness. 

Sec 2. All political power is inherent in the people ; Government 
is instituted for their protection, security, and benefit ; and they have 
the right to alter and reform the same whenever they may deem it 
requisite for the public welfare. 

Sec. 3. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, but may 
be waived by the consent of parties in civil cases. 

Sec. 4, The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be 
suspended, unless in cases of clear manifestation of defeating the ends 
of justice, nor shall excessive bail or fines be imposed, nor shall cruel 
or unusual punishment be inflicted, nor bail be denied except in capital 
offenses of the highest and most flagrant character. 

Sec 5. No person's life or liberty shall be placed twice in jeopardy 
for the same offense ; nor be compelled in any criminal prosecution 
to be a witness against himself; or be denied any of the facilities of 
procuring the attendance of witnesses in his behalf by due process of 
law, or to interrogate witnesses when confronted by them, or to be 
heard by himself or counsel in his defense. 

Sec 6. Freedom of speech and press is fully guaranteed, but 
every person is held responsible for the abuse of that right. 

Sec 7. The people have the right to assemble, consult the public 
good, and instruct the Legislative Department on any subject affecting 
the public welfare. , 

Sec 8. There shall be no imprisonment for debt, except in cases 
of fraud, supported by affidavit or other undeniable evidence. 

Sec 9. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing 
the obligations of contracts, shall ever be passed. 

Sec 10. No warrant shall be issued to search any house or pre- 
mises, unless there be probable cause, supported by oath or affirma- 
tion particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person 
or property to be seized. 

Sec 11. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to im- 
pair or deny the existence of other undelegated rights. 



DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 23 

ARTICLE II. 

The Executive Department. 

Sec. 1. The Executive Department shall be vested in a City- 
Mayor, who shall be elected by the qualified citizens of the City, on 
the fifteenth day of April of each year, provided it be not on a Sunday, 
if so, on the following day. 

Sec. 2. No person shall be eligible to the office of Mayor (except 
at the first election under this Constitution) who has not been a resi- 
dent of this City at least six months next preceding the election, and 
attained the age of twenty-five years. 

Sec. 3. He shall transact all executive business, with the other 
city officers, civil and military, try all civil and criminal cases, brought 
before him, sign, seal and indorse his name to all official documents 
requiring the same, examine the condition of all public offices and 
public property, and make out a written report of all public affairs, 
and do and perform all other duties which may hereafter be assigned 
him by law. 

Sec. 4. He shall suspend the execution of sentence of punishment, 
where the same involves the life or liberty of the accused, when peti- 
tioned, until the next session of the Council, to whom he shall report 
all the particulars of the case, and they will either pardon, commute, 
or order execution of sentence, as the case may be. 

Sec 5. In case of the impeachment of the Mayor, or his removal 
from office, or inability to discharge the duties of his office by resig- 
nation or otherwise, the duties of his office shall devolve on the Presi- 
dent of the City Council, until the Mayor be reinstated in office, return 
to his duties, or his successor be elected and qualified to act. 

Sec 6. No person while holding the office of Mayor shall hold any 
other office or title. 

ARTICLE III. 

Officers and their Duties. 

Section 1. At the same time and place, and in the same manner 
in which the Mayor or Common Council are chosen, there shall be 
elected a City Eegister, City Attorney, City Marshal, City Treasurer, 
Coroner, Captain of the Port, Health Officer, City Surveyor, and Pub- 
lic Administrator. The office of City Surveyor, Captain of the Port, 
and Coroner, shall until otherwise provided for by law, be vested in 
the Health officer. 

Sec 2. The City Register shall also be ex officio Clerk of the 
Mayor's Court, Secretary of the Common Council, and Postmaster, 
until otherwise ordained by law. 

Sec 3. The City Marshal, by virtue of his office, shall be Captain 
of Police, and shall also serve in the capacity of Public Administrator, 
until otherwise ordained by the Common Council. 



24 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 



ARTICLE IV. 



Section 1. The judicial power of the City shall be vested in a 
Supreme Judge and two Associate Judges, in addition to the judicial 
duties assigned to the Mayor of the City. 

Sec. 2. Two of the Supreme Judges shall be sufficient to consti- 
tute a Court to try and determine any and all cases that may be 
brought before them. 

Sec. 3. The Supreme Court shall have power and jurisdiction in 
all cases of appeal which may arise in the Mayor's Court, and in 
special cases, as may be designated by the Common Council ; but in 
no case shall their decision apply to matters of fact, but simply to 
questions of law. 

Sec. 4. The time and place of election, qualification for and term 
of office, and compensation, shall hereafter be provided by law. 

article v. 

Legislative Department. 

Section 1. The Legislative Department shall be vested in a 
Common Council, chosen from and by the qualified voters, to serve 
for the term of twelve months. 

Sec. 2. The Common Council shall consist of Five Councilmen, 
one of whom shall be chosen President of the Council, to preside 
over the deliberations and decide in all cases of a tie. 

Sec. 3. The members of the Common Council shall, within fifteen 
days after their election, present themselves before the Mayor, or, in 
his absence or disqualification, before one of the Supreme Judges, and 
take the oath of office, and choose from their number a presiding 
officer, and determine the time and place of holding their stated meet- 
ings, (but may be convened by the Mayor at any time,) provide rules 
for their own proceedings. They shall also keep a journal of their 
proceedings ; and, at the desire of any member, shall cause the yeas 
and nays to be taken and entered on any question ; and, upon the pre- 
sentation of the written protest of any member, cause the same to be 
entered on their journal without comment. 

Sec. 4. In the absence or 'disqualification of the President to act, 
they shall appoint from their body a President pro tern., who shall be 
vested with all the power properly belonging to the President. A 
majority of the members shall constitute a quorum to do business. 
They shall judge of the qualifications of their successors and all city 
officers, and determine contested elections ; inflict reasonable fines and 
imprisonment on any member of their body or other persons, for dis- 
orderly and contemptuous conduct in their presence ; levy and collect 
taxes, impose fines, offer rewards, regulate licenses, provide for the 
payment of the public debt, and provide for the support and defense 
of the City ; enact laws authorizing the purchase, rent, or lease, of any 
property the city may require, or to sell, rent, or lease public pro- 



DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 25 

perty ; but shall not dispose of any of the public land until the City 
shall have acquired title from the Governments claiming the same, 
by purchase, treaty, or otherwise ; pledge the faith of the City to 
borrow money, do so by a vote of the citizens, stating for what pur- 
pose it is to be borrowed, and specifying the amount; but no speci- 
fied property of the City shall ever be mortgaged for the payment of 
debt or any other purpose, nor any pledge of the faith of the City, 
for a longer period than five years, nor money borrowed at a greater 
rate of interest than eight per cent per annum ; nor shall any invest- 
ment of the public money be made in any stock company or other 
scheme of speculation ; nor shall the amount borrowed ever exceed 
twenty per centum on the amount of taxes collected for the fiscal year 
for which the loan be made. Nothing contained in the foregoing sec- 
tions shall be construed as a denial of the right to erect any public 
building, wharf, etc., which may be required for the general good, 
charitable, or other worthy donations, provided said donations be not 
greater than one per cent on the amount of tax collected for the year 
in which the donation is made. 

Sec. 5. They shall determine the proper qualifications for office 
not herein provided for ; determine the qualifications of voters, estab- 
lish time and place for holding elections, the manner of conducting the 
same ; exact bonds from all persons holding offices of trust ; establish 
legal forms, fees, and salaries of officers ; make all laws, rules, and 
regulations necessary for carrying into effect the aforesaid powers, to 
do and perform all acts appertaining to a constitutional legislative 
body not enumerated in this constitution or prohibited by it, or the 
Declaration of Rights. 

ARTICLE VI. 

Laws, Precedents, Etc. 

Section 1. The Common Law of England shall be recognized, 
and the same is hereby incorporated in all the Courts of Government. 

Sec. 2. The decisions of the Supreme Courts of the United States 
of America shall be conclusive in all similar trials in any and all the 
Courts of this Government. 

ARTICLE VII. 

Section 1. No officer shall be exempt from civil or criminal prose- 
cution in consequence of his office, excepting officers elected or ap- 
pointed to conduct elections, who shall be exempted from arrest on 
the day of election. 

ARTICLE VIII. - 

Section 1. No law shall be enforced until it shall have been pub- 
lished, by written or printed notices posted up at least ten days in the 
Council Chamber, and in three of the most public and often frequented 
places in the city, in both the English and Spanish languages. 

article IX. 

Section 1. No idiot or insane person, or person convicted of any 
infamous crime, shall be eligible to office or entitled to the privilege 
of an elector. 



26 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 

Sec. 2. All elections held under this Constitution shall be by ballot. 
The ballot shall be a paper ticket, containing the name of the person 
or persons voted for, and designating the office to which each person 
so named is chosen. 

Sec. 3. All male citizens over the age of twenty-one years, who 
shall have resided in this city thirty days next preceding the ensuing 
election, (April 15th, 1852,) shall be entitled to exercise the right of 
an elector. 

ARTICLE X. 

Section 1. There shall be appointed by the citizens at the time 
of the adoption of this Constitution, three Inspectors of Election, 
whose duty it shall be to provide a suitable ballot-box, with a lock 
and key attached thereto, and keep the same in their possession, in 
which they shall deposit the ballots, as received from the Electors, 
(after they, the Inspectors, shall have opened the polls, on the fifteenth 
day of April instant, at the hour of 9 o'clock A.M., and have continu- 
ed the same open until 4 o'clock P.M.,) and upon the closing of the 
polls, proceed to count out the ballots, declare the result of the 
election, and furnish the persons elected with certificates of their 
election. 

Sec. 2. There shall also be appointed at the said meeting two 
Clerks, whose duty it shall be to keep a separate poll-list, on which 
they shall record the names of the electors ; and, after the closing of 
the polls, they shall record the names of the persons voted for, and to 
what office they are chosen, as they are called out by the Inspectors, 
until they shall have recorded all the ballots. 

Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the Inspectors, when a voter is chal- 
lenged, to inform the person of the requisite qualification of an elector, 
and to decide upon the legality of the vote. 

AMENDMENT, ETC. 

Should the Common Council at any time deem it necessary to alter 
or amend this Constitution, they shall state in writing the particular 
clause they propose amending, and specify what alterations are deem- 
ed necessary, by publishing the same thirty days, requiring the quali- 
fied voters to vote yea or nay on the proposed amendment at the en- 
suing election. If two thirds of the votes polled be in favor of the 
amendment, the alteration shall be made by the Common Council at 
its next regular meeting, in the very words and figures voted for by 
the people. 

(Signed) 

Wm. P. Kirkland, 
Wm. B. Gerring, 
Jos. V. Perez, 
M. B. Jadownicki, 
Wm. H. De Forest, 
Jean Mesnier, 
E. W. Mackay, 
N. Boilvin, 
Leon Mancho. 



DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 27 

We do hereby certify, that the foregoing Constitution was submit- 
ted to the citizens of the City of Greytown, at a meeting held for 
that purpose, at the Union Hotel in said city, on this twenty-ninth 
day of March ; and it was then and there read section by section, and 
adopted unanimously. 

Dated at Greytown, this twenty-ninth day of March, A.D. 1852. 

Thomas Cody, President. 

Wm. E. Sheldon, ) a . 

H T a ' >• secretaries. 

. L. bTEVENSON, ) 



D. 

British Consulate, 

Greytown, 1st April, 1853. 
Gentlemen : I have to acknowledge the receipt of a notification of 
this day's date, signed by the Mayor of the city, by which I am given 
to understand, that a provisional government has been formed by the 
citizens for the maintenance of law and order, and also including a 
list of the officers elected to carry it into effect. I have been author- 
ized by the commander of H. B. M. ship " Geyser " to mention his 
acknowledgment of the jurisdiction and limits of the aforesaid pro- 
visional government, to the same extent and in the same manner as 
that previously enforced. On my own part and on behalf of the 
British Government, I also hereby recognize the authority of the pro- 
visional goverment as before stated. 

I have the honor to be yours, etc., 

(Signed) James Green, 

H. B. M. Consul. 
To the Mayor and City Council of Greytown. 

United States Ship Cyane, 

Off Point Arenas, April 1st, 1853. 
Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
this date, inclosing a resolution passed by the citizens of San Juan on 
the evening of the twenty -first March, 1853. I will acknowledge 
your authority, and the officers named in your letter as elected by 
the citizens of San Juan, so far as my instructions will allow me, and 
no farther. That there may be no misunderstanding between us, 1 
send you the words of the late Daniel Webster, by which I am 
guided. Meanwhile a temporary recognition of the existing authorities 
of the place sufficient to countenance any well-intentioned endeavors 
on its part, to preserve the public peace and punish wrongdoers, 
would not be inconsistent with the policy and honor of the United 
States. I am glad to hear you have again formed a government. 
The persons elected to fill the various offices are their own choice. 
Of course I make no objection to them. 
I am, etc., 
(Signed) Geo. N. Hollins. 

Commanding U. S. Ship Cyane. 
T. J. Martin, Esq., 

Mayor-elect, San Juan del Norte. 



28 documentary evidence. 

Commercial Agency op the United States of America, 

San Juak del Norte, 1st April, 1853. 

To the Honorable Mayor and Council of San Juan del Norte : 

Gentlemen : I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your 
communication of this day's date, advising me of the organization of 
a provisional government for this port and city. It gives me much 
pleasure to congratulate the citizens upon the establishment of law 
and order, and at the same time to assure you of my appreciation of 
the good order and security to person and property which has been 
a characteristic of this town during the past twelve months. 
I have the honor to be, etc., 

(Signed) H. L. Stevenson, 

U. S. Commercial Agent. 



E. 

Commercial Agency, United -States America, 

San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua. 
By this public instrument of protest, be it known unto all men, 
that on the twelfth day of May, 1854, personally appeared Joseph 
N. Scott, Agent of the Accessory Transit Company of Nicaragua, who 
being duly sworn, did solemnly depose and say : That on the evening 
of Friday, fifth inst., at or about the hour of 11 P.M., William 
Creighton, mate of the steamer H. L. Bulwer, being at that time at 
the said Company's Station, at Point Arenas, did observe four men in 
the act of loading a yawl-boat, belonging to the said Company, with 
merchandise ; and suspecting something wrong, in consequence of the 
lateness of the hour, did thereupon notify the deponent of the fact. 
The said Creighton recognized the aforesaid men as Eobert Reid, I. 
Magraw, and two others, names unknown, but at the time, or pre- 
viously, employes of the Company. The deponent immediately 
proceeded to the spot, but the boat was at some distance from the 
beach at the time of his arrival. He hailed the boat, calling upon the 
man Reid by name, to come back. The parties in the boat made no 
reply, although they were within easy hailing distance ; and their 
voices were heard from the shore apparently exhorting one another to 
push on. He, the deponent, finding that no attention was paid by the 
men in the boat to his command, at once dispatched a second boat, 
manned by William Creighton, Robert Bullis, and William Sloman, 
all employes of said Transit Company, in pursuit. The boat that 
first left the said Point Arenas, shaped her course for the city of San 
Juan del Norte ; and arriving there before the second boat, a portion 
of the men succeeded in leaving her before the pursuers reached the 
spot. One man, the aforesaid Reid, was found in the boat, and while 
resisting the attempts of the aforesaid Sloman to secure him, he was 
struck upon the head by said Sloman. The said Sloman, after knock- 
ing the man Reid into the water, attempted to shove the boat off shore, 
and while in the act of so doing, the soldiers from the Station-House 



DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 29 

threatened to fire on him. Thus compelled, the said Sloman returned 
to the shore with the boat. In the mean time the men who had es- 
caped from the first boat, took refuge in the Station-House. He, the 
deponent, doth farther solemnly depose and say, that the said yawl- 
boat above described, together with the merchandise therein, consist- 
ing of flour, corn-meal, etc., was the property of the aforesaid Transit 
Company, and was stolen from the said Company as above described, 
and that it was in the attempt to recover said property, and secure the 
persons of the offenders, that the above-specified difficulty occurred. 
Soon after the occurrence last described above, Mr. Hutchinson, Clerk 
of the aforesaid Transit Company, acting under the orders of the de- 
ponent, accompanied by three men, arrived on the spot, and finding 
the stolen boat on the beach, jumped into her, with his (the said 
Hutchinson's) men. The said Hutchinson then attempted to shove 
off the boat, and was ordered by a policeman, with a musket, to stop ; 
but no atention being paid to this order, the man dropped his musket, 
and called on the crowd to assist him in taking possession of the boat, 
which, being the strongest party, they succeeded in doing. The said 
Hutchinson then seeing F. Deizmann, Captain of the Port of San Juan 
del Norte, called upon him, the said Deizmann, to deliver over to 
him, the said Hutchinson, the aforesaid boat, agreeing at the same 
time to leave in his, the said Deizmann's charge, the merchandise 
therein, until the following morning, that it might then be identified, 
with the express understanding that the property was not to be in any 
other way disposed of, until said examination was made. 

The said Hutchinson, together with the aforesaid Sloman, Bullis, 
and Creighton, having the three boats m charge, then left the Port 
of San Juan del Norte, aforesaid, on their return to Point Arenas. On 
the following morning, fifth inst., the said Hutchinson returned to 
San Juan with the said Creighton, to identify the aforesaid property, in 
accordance with the agreement made with the said Deizmann, as above 
described. He, the said Deizmann, had not the property in charge, 
but said he handed it over to the charge of the Marshal. The said 
Hutchinson then accompanied the said Marshal to a house, in the open 
yard of which were some articles which he, the said Marshal, asserted 
were the goods in question. The said Hutchinson finding the agree- 
ment made between himself and the said Deizmann, above described, 
had been violated, and seeing that the flour and other articles taken 
by the aforesaid Reid, Magraw, and associates, were missing, and that 
the wife of the said Magraw was apparently in charge of the goods, 
declined making any examination of the same, and left, on his return 
to the Point aforesaid. On the same morning, sixth inst., A. Sigaud, 
Mayor of San Juan del Norte, issued a warrant for the arrest of the 
aforesaid Wm. Sloman, charged with assault and battery upon the person 
of the aforesaid Robert Reid, which was received by the said Sloman 
from the hands of the Marshal. The said Sloman being in the employ 
of the aforesaid Transit Company, requested to communicate with the 
deponent, Agent as aforesaid, under whose orders he had acted. The 
said Marshal then accompanied the said Sloman to the office of the 
deponent, and the deponent replied to the demand of the said Mar- 



30 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 

shal, that according to the views of the Company which he represent- 
ed, the authorities of San Juan del Norte had no authority or juris- 
diction over the territory known as Point Arenas, and that he should 
not permit the arrest of the said Sloman by them, except it was 
effected by force, and under protest ; upon which the said Marshal 
departed. On the afternoon of the same day the said Marshal re- 
turned, accompanied by an armed force, when the deponent permitted 
the taking of the said Sloman, protesting verbally against the act at 
the time, and notifying the said Marshal of his determination to send 
in likewise his written protest to the authorities of San Juan del 
Norte, at his earliest convenience. Now, therefore, the deponent, for 
and on behalf of the aforesaid Transit Company of Nicaragua, doth 
hereby publicly and solemnly protest against the authorities of San 
Juan del Norte and their proceedings as above described, in the as- 
sistance rendered by them in harboring the aforesaid Reid, Magraw, 
and associates, to the great detriment of the Transit Company afore- 
said, and in sending an armed force to the territory known as Point 
Arenas, in Nicaragua, now occupied by the said Transit Company by 
virtue of their Charter from Nicaragua, as a gross and unjustifiable 
outrage upon the property, as well as the rights and privileges of the 
said Transit Company, and will hold them, the authorities aforesaid, 
responsible, for all losses, damages, and charges, and interests which 
are or may be occasioned by the same. 

(Signed) Joseph N. Scott, Agent. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me on the day and year first above 
written. 

(Signed) Joseph W. Fabens, 

U. S. Commercial Agent. 



Commercial Agency, United States America, 

San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua. 
I hereby certify that the foregoing Protest is a true copy from the 
Record-Book of this Agency. In testimony whereof I have hereunto 
set my hand and affixed the seal of my Agency on the twelfth day of 
May, 1854. (Signed) Joseph W. Fabens, 

U. S. Commercial Agent. 



Greytown, or San Juan del Norte, June 28th, 1854. 
We, the undersigned, declare that the things found in the boat be- 
longing to the Accessory Transit Company, on the night of the fifth 
of May last, when it was examined by Mr. Hutchinson, the Company's 
Clerk, consisted of nothing more than wearing apparel, and that there 
was no meal, flour, rice, or any other thing supposed to be belonging 
to the said Company. 

(Signed) Thomas S. Codd, 

John I. McClean, 

Ms 

Robert M Reid. 

mark. 



DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 31 



F. 



Commercial Agency, United States op America. 
San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua, July 11th, 1854. 
To those now or lately pretending to and exercising authority in and to 
the people of San Juan del Norte. 

Gentlemen : On the 24th ultimo, in accordance with the instruc- 
tions of the Government of the United States of America, I notified 
you that the said Government would require of you immediate repara- 
tion for the property belonging to the Accessory Transit Company, 
which was stolen from the said Company and received by you, as 
specified in my letter of that date, as well as for all damages suffered 
by their agents and employes while endeavoring to re-possess them- 
selves of the same. I have now, acting in concert with Commander 
Hollins, of the United States ship Cyane, at present in this harbor, 
to demand of you immediate payment of the sum of sixteen thousand 
dollars, which has been adjudged to be the proper sum for you to pay 
for the said property and the gross outrages perpetrated by you upon 
the persons of American citizens, as set forth in protests of Mr. Scott 
of the 12th of May last, copies of which have already been served 
upon you. 

There is likewise a claim o± the Accessory Transit Company vs. 
the acting authorities of San Juan del Norte, for the sum of eight 
thousand dollars, as specified in my letter to you of the 24th ultimo. 
This you will be likewise expected to pay forthwith. 

For the indignity offered to the United States of America, in the 
conduct of the authorities and people of this town towards their Min- 
ister, Mr. Borland, while recently in this place, nothing short of an 
apology promptly made, and satisfactory assurances given to Com- 
mander Hollins of future good behavior on the part of the said authori- 
ties and people towards the United States and her public functionaries 
who may in future be here, will save the place from the infliction which 
its late acts justly merit. Your obedient servant, 

Joseph W. Fabens, 
United States Commercial Agent. 



G. 
COLONEL EKEMONT'S STATEMENT. 

The immediate origin of the difficulty in which Borland participated, 
was the homicide of the negro captain of a bungo, or river boat, com- 
mitted by Captain Smith, of a steamer plying on the river. Not- 
withstanding published statements directly the reverse, this homicide 
was considered by the Americans, almost without exception, a deli- 
berate, cold-blooded murder, without a shadow of palliation. There 
had been some previous difficulty between Smith and the negro. 

On the day of the homicide, Smith's steamer ran into the negro's 
bungo, when the latter threatened to shoot Smith if he broke his boat. 



32 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 

The bungo, however, was uninjured. Subsequently the steamer 
started down the river, and after it had proceeded some distance put 
back again, apparently for no other purpose than to run into the 
bungo, which it did, crushing it like an egg-shell. At this time the 
negro was sitting in his boat with his gun across his knees. The 
weight of testimony is, that he made no hostile demonstration 
against Smith, having neither risen from his seat nor raised his gun, 
when Smith deliberately shot him. Immediately upon being shot, 
the poor fellow got up, and while attempting to step from the wreck 
of his bungo into the boat alongside of it, his strength failed him and 
he fell into the river. 

A warrant was issued by the Mayor of Greytown for Smith's 
arrest, and an officer went on board the steamer, as every one knows, 
but was prevented from getting his prisoner by the forcible resist- 
ance of the passengers, headed by Borland. In aiding the Minister 
thus to resist the officers, the passengers did not intend to indorse the 
murder of the negro, or absolve his murderer. On the contrary, it 
would have been a very easy matter to have had him hung on brief 
notice by a " Committee of Vigilance," had either of the acknowledged 
leaders proposed it. But Mr. Borland, in a speech he made to the 
crowd, as well as in private conversation, told them he was instructed 
not in any way to recognize the authority of Greytown, (deriving its 
authority from the Mosquito King,) as separate and distinct from 
Nicaragua. To permit the Greytown officers to arrest an American 
citizen, and try him for crime, would be to recognize the authority of 
the town government in the fullest sense ; and so Mr. Borland urged 
them to aid him in " crushing out " this scion of the Mosquitoes. If 
the government of Greytown was illegal, deriving its powers from 
incompetent authority, the act of the officers who attempted to arrest 
Smith could only be looked upon as the act of a mob, proper to be 
resisted by mob force. In this opinion the whole steamer's party 
concurred. And, of course, the arrest and imprisonment of Mr. Bor- 
land that night was looked upon as the act of an irresponsible mob, 
without law or authority of any kind. 



H. 

William L. Millar, residing at 582 Houston street, in the city of 
New-York, states : " I was on board the steamer Ruth when Antonio, 
the pilot, was shot. I took passage in the Ruth at Machuca Rapids. 
About two o'clock in the forenoon, as I was sitting in my hammock 
below, I heard loud talking on deck, and from some bungos which 
appeared to be alongside. Presently two colored boys came in and 
took out three pistols, two of which they concealed in their breast. I 
asked them what was the excitement % They told me Captain Smith 
was turning the boat around to go back and shoot Antonio, the patrone 
of the bungo we had just now passed. I asked the reasons of his 
shooting him. They said that Captain Smith and he quarrelled every 
time they met ; that he once worked on the boat with Captain Smith ; 



DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 33 

that they had a quarrel, and quarrelled every time they met after- 
wards. The boat went on back up the river for about half an hour, 
when she turned round and ran right down, bows into the broadside 
of Antonio's bungo. I had gone out on the guard. There were two 
bungos lying together, Antonio's outside. It sounded as if the boat 
was smashing the bungos all to pieces. Antonio kept sitting on the 
stern of his boat — the chopa. He did not rise until the steamer struck 
his bungo, when he rose up, held up his left hand to Captain Smith, 
and said : ' Cuidudo capitan, usted rompe me bongo ' — ' Take care, cap- 
tain, you break my bungo.' 

" He was about to repeat the same expression, and got out the 
word, ' cuidado,' when a ball entered the nipple of the left breast. 
While standing in this position he had in his right hand a single-bar- 
relled gun on half-cock, the butt end of it resting on the chopa of the 
bungo, his right hand grasping the barrel about three or four inches 
from its mouth. 

" The instant the shot entered him he took two steps forward, and 
was in the act of taking the third when he tumbled head foremost into 
the other bungo next the bank. The steamer then went on. As far 
as I saw in looking back, he remained in the same position, with his 
feet up. 

" We proceeded down the river, getting aground two or three times. 
Most of the passengers disapproved of the act of Captain Smith, and 
the talk was that Mr. Borland told him to shoot him. I went up on 
the hurricane-deck, where Mr. Borland, Captain Smith, and Mr. 
Wiedemann, the Hamburg consul, and several others were standing. 
Captain Smith was in the pilot-house. I asked Mr. Borland if he 
thought it was right for Captain Smith to shoot the captain of the 
bungo. Mr. Borland answered that he thought it very wrong to shoot 
him ; that he had said to him that were he in his place, he would 
bring Antonio on board and whip him, and that he did not expect 
Captain Smith would shoot him when he sent out his men to bring 
Antonio on board the steamer. Mr. Wiedemann and others were 
present when this talk occurred." 



I. 

" The undersigned, a native citizen of the United States, master of 
American bark Martha Clark, owned by C. Durand, Esq., of this city, 
having seen several statements in the public newspapers of this City in 
relation to the interference of Mr. Borland with the authorities of San 
Juan, make this statement: My vessel, the aforesaid bark, Martha 
Clark, was lying in the harbor of San Juan del Norte at the time of 
the murder committed by Captain Smith, and I was one of the first 
persons summoned to serve on the Coroner's Jury to investigate the 
murder of the native. Mr. Fabens, the Commercial Agent, was 
present at the session of the Jury and approved of the arrest of Smith. 
and the Mayor sent a police force to arrest said Smith, cautioning the 
police not to be excited or rash. 
3 



L'OfC. 



34 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 

" The boat contained native Nicaraguans, special police commanded 
by Don Roman Rivas, son of the Collector of the Port of San Carlos. 
The other contained the Marshal and his assistants. The arrest was 
prevented by Mr. Borland, and Mr. Fabens, after seeing Mr. B. said 
nothing further about arresting Smith. 

" The evidence at the Coroner's inquest was that the bungo of the 
murdered man was tied upon the side of the river, and as the steam- 
boat, commanded by Smith, was seen coming down the river, the man 
seized his gun and said if Smith ran him down again he would shoot 
him — that Smith had run him down and smashed his bungo once or 
twice before. The steamer passed the bungo and slewed around and 
ascended the river, and approaching the bank, hailed the natives to 
take the lines and make them fast, but the natives, seeing the passen- 
gers and crew armed with pistols, etc., let the lines go, and the steamer 
drifted down. The steamer came up again, when Smith took de- 
liberate aim from-the pilot-house, shot the owner of the bungo through 
the heart. 

" While on board the steamship Northern Light, several of the 
passengers told me that Smith would not have shot the man if he had 
not been encouraged by Borland. 

" After che inquest, late in the evening, I went down to the Com- 
mercial Agent's house, where Mr. Borland was, and where Smith was 
also supposed to be, and I found -a considerable number of persons 
greatly excited around the house,\and they demanded that Smith 
should be brought out ; that Borland should give him up, and wished 
to search the house. Mr. Fabens replied that it was United States 
property, and they could not enter for any purpose, and Borland said 
he would shoot the first man who came in. The crowd did not then 
persist in entering. 

" The Mayor, Mr. Sigaud, then came up and said that the acts of 
the crowd were unauthorized by the authorities, and apologized to 
Mr. Borland. I then went on board my vessel, and about ten minutes 
afterward Mr. Fabens and three others came aboard and asked me if 
I had any arms and ammunition on board, that Mr. Borland had his 
head cut open, and that he, Fabens, was going on board the steam- 
ships to get the Californians to bum the town, and tried to induce my 
mate to go with him. I then, at the request of Mr. Fabens, took him 
and those who were with him in my own boat to the steamship, and 
upon reaching the deck, Fabens called on Captain Churchill of the 
steamer for assistance, and also addressed the passengers in saying 
that Mr. Borland had been seriously injured by a parcel of rebels and 
pirates, and niggers in the town, and appealed to them as Americans, 
if they would suffer their Minister to be insulted, and called for volun- 
teers to go and burn the town. The passengers replied, that if 
Mr. B. or any other American was in danger, they would go and 
see them righted, but doubted that there was as much danger as Fabens 
represented, and appointed a committee of three to go and learn the 
facts. 

" These persons, with Fabens and others, numbering eleven in 
all, were not permitted to land, the people having got wind of the 



DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 35 

intention to burn the town, keeping guard along the beach. They 
however told Fabens that he might land, but not the others, as they 
feared danger for the town. 

" All this was during the night, and Borland remained ashore at 
the Commercial Agency, and there was no guard around the house, 
and no restraint on Borland. The only guard was along the beach, 
to prevent parties landing, and burning the town as threatened by 
Fabens. The next morning Borland went on board the steamship at 
about six o'clock, and there were no marks on his head as represented 
by Fabens to the passengers. 

" William H. Rodgers, Master bark Martha Clark. 
"New-York, August 2d, 1854." 



CORONER'S INQUEST ON THE BODY OE A. PALADINO. 

Present : J. B. Lyons, E. F. Mason, Wm. H. Rogers, Le- 

vaille, Oscar Peter, George Hughes, Dr. Syfret, Acting Mar- 
shal, and A. Gamin, City Attorney. 

Jose Calisto sworn : Knows the deceased is named Antonio Pala- 
dino ; went this morning alongside deceased's boat to sell fish ; whilst 
there, a steamboat came and caught Paladino's bungo with a rope ; the 
steamer then shoved off; then she came down the river a little, and 
swept back with increased speed on the bungo and broke her, and 
Captain Smith of the boat took a gun and shot the deceased ; knows 
personally Captain Smith ; when Captain Smith shot deceased, he 
(the Captain) was on the main deck ; does not know the name of the 
boat ; deceased had a gun in the stern of the boat, but did not use it, 
the deceased being in the bow ; when the steamer struck the bungo, 
deceased told Smith not to break his boat again ; when deceased re- 
ceived the shot, he fell into Carreto's boat ; when the man was shot, 
the bungo was tied on the back at the Touro ; there was plenty of 
water for the steamer to pass alongside of the bungo, but Smith 
struck the bungo maliciously. 

Eranisbo Pirien sworn : Is fifteen years old ; is aware of the na- 
ture of an oath ; one or two boats were tied up in the river, the men 
taking their dinner; saw the steamer cOming, and the women on 
board the bungo cried out that she was bearing down upon them ; as 
she was coming, Captain Smith pointed out deceased ; steamer came 
across the river to a bank, the crew swung her head round ; her 
stern swept by the bungo before doing so ; to aid the operation, the 
people on board the steamer sent a rope to the bungo to make tight 
to a tree, which they did, but seeing the crew and passengers seize 
fire-arms, they let go the rope, thinking they were going to be killed ; 
Captain Smith told the bungo-men, whilst the people were displaying 
their fire-arms, to wait " poco tempi ;" the steamer then stood off, and 
bore directly down upon them ; the crew and women then ran into 
the woods ; before this, saw Captain Smith take a gun from a man 



36 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 

and load it ; this induced deponent to run away ; Captain Smith was 
steering, and when they ran down on the boat another man was there 
with him. 

Nicholas Gonzales sworn : Knows Smith ; saw him shoot de- 
ceased ; the shot was fired from the upper deck ; when the steamer 
was coming down the river, deceased was sitting in the chopa, and 
Smith pointed him out to the passengers. 

Statement of Dr. Syfret : From the position of the wound, it is 
evident that the shot must have been fired from a higher elevation 
than that occupied by deceased at the time he was shot ; the ball en- 
tered the breast about an inch to the left of the left nipple and a little 
above it, then passed obliquely inwards through the anterior and in- 
ferior portion of the lobe of left lung, passing into the heart. 

The coroner's jury summoned to hold an inquest on the body of A. 
Paladino, after taking into consideration the testimony of the different 
witnesses, find that deceased came to his death from a shot fired from 
a weapon in the hands of Captain Smith, this sixteenth day of May. 
1854. 

J. B. Lyons, 
E. F. Mason, 
/0 . ,. Wm. H. Rogers, 

( Sl § ned ) Oscar Peter, 

Geo. R. Hughes, 

Levaille. 

Grey town, or San Juan del Norte, 

16th May, 1854. Dr. F. J. Diezmann, Coroner. 



K. 

Greytown, or San Juan del Norte, 

16th of May, 1854. 

Thomas Codd, Marshal, sworn : I went on board the steamer 
Routh, and arrested Captain Smith ; he had in hand a loaded blun- 
derbuss, but appeared willing to come when I arrested him. The 
American Minister, Mr. Borland, then came up, and as I held him by 
the hand, he knocked away my hand, and said I should not have him 
at risk of my life ; that the American Government did not recognize 
this place, nor any authority in the place, and he as American Minis- 
ter could call to his command every passenger on the steamer to 
shoot down every one of us. At this time others standing coolly 
around got their guns ready for action, to wit, Bengamen, Myers. 
McAdams, and others. At this time the bungo with the men under 
command of Rivas was just approaching the steamer, Mr. Rivas ex- 
horting the men to pull briskly. As he stood up, the American 
Minister took a gun from somebody, cocked it, and leveled, and was 
about to fire, when I turned it aside with my hand. He then said : 
" If you respect your lives, do not allow the boat to come any nearer, 
or I will fire and kill every one. I shall have a man-of-war here in a 



DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 37 

very short time to settle all this matter." Seeing the numbers 
around, and the tenor of the remarks made, I was obliged to come 
away and leave him, the prisoner. 

I asked him to communicate with the American Consul and bring 
the man over. He said it was not my business, and to leave the ship 
directly or he would use me as he would any other. I then left and 
came away. 

(Signed) Thomas S. Codd, City Marshal. 

Sworn before me, A. Sigaud, Mayor of the City of Greytown, or 
San Juan del Norte, this sixteenth of May, 1854. 

(Signed) A. Sigaud, Mayor. 

Edward Patton, sworn in by the Mayor as Deputy Marshal, to 
execute a warrant on Captain Smith, charged with the murder of A. 
Paladino, being duly sworn, saith that he went and inquired for Cap- 
tain Smith. Some said : " Below." Shortly appeared with his shirt 
oif, as if washing himself. I shook hands with him, and laid hands on 
him, telling him he was my prisoner. Mr. B. Myers then said : 
" Patton, I am astonished you go into such a business as this." 1 
was pushed back, the prisoner released, and I was warned to quit the 
boat immediately. The prisoner ran and got a sword, which he 
dropped, and then ran and got a blunderbuss, swearing he would shoot 
me. The pistol in my hand was wrenched out of it, and then I was 
hustled over the side. We then came away. 

(Signed) Edward Patton. 

Sworn to before me, A. Sigaud, Mayor of the City of Greytown, 
or San Juan del Norte, this sixteenth day of May, 1854. 

(Signed) A. Sigaud, Mayor. 



L. 

Office of the Mayor, 
Greytown, or San Juan del Norte, Nov. 11th, 1858. 

Before me personally came James B. Lyons, a resident of this city, 
and being duly sworn, doth depose and say, that he was present and 
standing upon the steps of the house of Mr. Eabens, the Commercial. 
Agent of this city for the United States, and that he heard Mr. Solon 
Borland distinctly say to the Mayor, Mr. Sigaud, when told by the 
Mayor that the man Smith had committed a deliberate and willful 
murder, that he, Borland, would not allow said Smith to be arrested 
even if he had committed murder, and that the city authorities had 
no right to try said Smith ; and further, that he heard the Mayor say 
to Mr. Borland that he had issued no order to arrest Mr. Borland ; 
and that upon the bottle being thrown, he, the deponent, immediately 
offered fifty dollars to any one who would point out the person who 
threw the bottle. This conversation took place on the evening of the 
sixteenth day of May, A.D. 1854. 

Sworn before me this eleventh day of November, 1858. 

Julius Wolff, Mayor. 
[seal.] J. B. Lyons. 



38 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 



M. 

Office of the City Attorney, Greytown, 
or San Juan del Norte, May 17th, iS54. 

James W. Fabens, Esq., XI. S. Commercial Agent : 

Sir : Information has been filed at my office that a mob, under pre- 
tense of law, violated, last evening, your domicil, and insulted the per- 
son of the Hon. S. Borland, United States Minister to Central America. 
The authorities of this City, as far as they are concerned, are deter- 
mined to punish the offenders with the utmost rigor of the law. 

Therefore, I shall be thankful to you for any information you can 
furnish me respecting the parties implicated in this outrage, in order 
to facilitate the steps I have taken to bring them to a speedy trial. 

I have the honor to be, sir, with the greatest consideration, etc., 

(Signed) J. W. Carle, City Attorney. 



N. 

PROCLAMATION. 



To all men to whom these presents shall come, or to whom they may 
concern, greeting : 

Know ye, that whereas certain gross outrages have at sundry times 
been perpetrated by the " authorities " (so called) and people of San 
Juan del Norte upon the persons and property of American citizens 
at that place and vicinity ; and whereas a serious insult and indignity 
has been offered to the United States in the conduct of the said authori- 
ties and people towards Mr. Borland, United States Minister to 
Central America, for which outrage and insult no indemnity has been 
given, and no satisfactory reply returned to demands already made : 
, Now, therefore, I, George N. Hollins, commander of the United 
States sloop-of-war Cyane, by virtue of my instructions from the 
United States Government at Washington, do hereby solemnly pro- 
claim and declare that if the demands for satisfaction in the matters 
above named, specified in the letter of Mr. Fabens, United States 
Commercial Agent, dated 11th instant, are not forthwith complied 
with, I shall, at nine o'clock A.M., of to-morrow, 13th instant, pro- 
ceed to bombard the town of San Juan del Norte, aforesaid, to the 
end that the rights of our country and citizens may be vindicated, and 
as a guarantee for future protection. 

George N. Hollins, Commander. 
United States Ship Cyane, 

Harbor of San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua, 
9 A.M., July 12th, 1854. 



DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 39 



O. 



COMPANY'S APPLICATION TO MOSQUITO FOB PERMISSION 
TO OCCUPY LAND. 

British Consulate, Greytown, 12th July, 1851. 

Sir : In the absence of H. B. M. Acting Agent and Consul General, 
I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this day's date, 
desiring the use of a certain piece of land on the opposite side of the 
harbor for the purposes of a coal-yard for the C. A. A. and P. Ship 
Canal Company. I have therefore to inform you, that until the land 
in question may be required for the purposes of the Mosquito Gov- 
ernment, I can see no objection to your request, and the Pacific 
Canal Company may therefore make use of the lot you have marked 
out as necessary — two hundred feet from east to west, and four 
hundred feet from north to south — for the purposes of said Company, 
paying rent therefor at the rate of six-pence sterling per month 
and the above-named terms. I have further to add, that it is the wish 
of this Government at all times to forward the interests of the said 
Company. I have the honor, etc. 

(Signed) Hy. Grant Foote, 

For H. B. M. Acting Agent and Consul-General. 

T. J. Martin, Esq., Greytown. 



N. Y. and California S. S. Line, via Nicaragua, 
No. 5 Bowling Green, New- York, July 16th, 1854. 

Dear Sir : Captain Hollins leaves here next Monday. You will 
see from his instructions that much discretion is given to you, and it 
is to be hoped that it will not be so exercised as to show any mercy 
to the town or people. If the scoundrels are soundly punished, we 
can take possession and build it up as a business place, put in our own 
officers, and transfer the jurisdiction, and you know the rest. It is of 
the last importance that the people of the town should be taught to 
fear us. Punishment will teach them, after which you must agree 
with them as to the organization of a new government, and the offi- 
cers of it. Every thing now depends on you and Hollins. The latter 
is all right. He fully understands the outrage, and will not hesitate 
in enforcing reparation. I hope to hear from you that all is right. 
Yours, etc., J. L. White. 



Fabens' Defense before the U. S. Commissioner, in the City of New^York, 

A.D. 1857. 

Greytown being destroyed, (alas ! that in my ignorance of the mo- 
tives of the principals in the affair, I ever permitted myself to be con- 
vinced that it was a righteous act,) and the way thus opened, as Mr. 
White expresses it, for a new government, the Mosquito land specu- 
lators set about preparing for the occupation of a territory whose 
chief town they had made a heap of blackened ashes. 



40 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 

Greytown, or San Juan del Norte, 1st July, 1854. 

The undersigned, T. J. Martin, would . represent that on the first 
day of May last past, he retired from the office of Mayor of Grey- 
town, or San Juan del Norte, and that since that time he has held no 
office, but has been simply a resident of said city. That on the day 
when Antonio Paladino was killed, he was on board the English 
steamer " Teviot," by the invitation of Captain Sawyer, her com- 
mander ; that the undersigned remained on board said vessel until 
eight o'clock in the evening of that day with Captain Sawyer, Mr. 
James Geddes, Mr. Lay, Mr. Bowers, Mr. F. Salter, and Mr. Pitcher ; 
that on his arrival in the city, he went with the above-named gentle- 
men to the City Police Station, and there heard the result of the 
coroner's inquest and the affidavits of Mr. Codd and Patton ; that 
upon being asked his legal opinion as to the resistance of Mr. Bor- 
land, he advised the Mayor to issue his warrant for the arrest of said 
Borland, but the Mayor refused to issue the same, and the under- 
signed immediately left the station-house and proceeded to the lower 
part of the city to the Masonic Hall, and remained in that place until 
after ten o'clock, when Mr. Lyons came there and informed him of 
the occurrences that had taken place at the American Consulate by 
certain persons attempting to arrest Mr. Borland, and of the throwing 
a bottle at said Borland ; that until then the undersigned had no 
knowledge of the said affair ; was not present ; neither advising or 
assisting ; the undersigned was also informed that it was reported 
that the passengers were about to attack the city, and that all the 
citizens were required to place themselves upon the defense and under 
the order of the Mayor, Mr. Sigaud ; that the undersigned immedi- 
ately placed himself under the orders of the Mayor and authorities, 
and took command of the city forces, and proceeded to put the city 
under guard, and remained under guard until six o'clock the next day, 
when, there being no further occasion for the city forces, they were 
dismissed ; and that the undersigned had acted no further in the mat- 
ter, and that the above statement contains all and every thing which 
the undersigned said, acted, or did upon the occasion above set forth. 

T. J. Martin. 



We, the undersigned, have read the statement of Mr. Martin, and 
of our own knowledge know that the said statement is perfectly true 
and correct, as we and each of us were present, and with Mr. Martin 
as he has severally above set forth, whilst he was on board the steam- 
ship " Teviot," the police station, and the Masonic Hall. 

James Geddes, Acting V. Consul H. B. M. 
Thos. W. Sawyer, Commander R. M. S. P. Teviot. 
Frederick Lay, Chief Officer R. M. S. P. Teviot. 
James Pitcher, Purser R. M. S. P. Teviot. 
John Bowers, Chief Engineer R. M. S. P. Teviot. 
Greytown.. or San Juan del Norte, 3 July, 1854. 



DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 41 

U. S. Commercial Agency, 

San Juan del Norte, 20th Jan. 1854. 

Dear Sir : Information has reached me that one of the deserting 
seamen of the " Bonita " is now at Port Arenas. I do, therefore, 
hereby request of you to order his arrest, and cause him to be placed 
in custody. Yours, etc., 

(Signed) Joseph W. Fabens. 

T. J. Martin, Esq., 

Mayor, San Juan del Norte. 



U. S. Commercial Agency, 
San Juan, April 19th, 1854. 

Sir : A complaint has been made to me by Captain Church of 
brig "Uranus," that Daniel Mace, seaman on board said brig, refused 
to return to duty. Please cause said Mace, to be arrested and de- 
livered to Captain Church, and oblige yours, etc., 

(Signed) Joseph W. Fabens. 

T. J. Martin, Esq., 
Mayor San Juan. 



Office of the City Clerk, 
Greytown, or San Juan del Norte, 12th Nov. 1858. 

I, Francis Salter, City Clerk of the City of Greytown, or San Juan 
del Norte, do hereby certify that the foregoing dispatch, addressed to 
Captain Jolly, of H. B. M. schooner Bermuda, is the original dupli- 
cate made by me, and that all the signatures thereto are genuine. 
And I further certify that the copies of the various letters and docu- 
ments thereto attached are true and correct copies of the originals, all 
of which are in my possession as City Clerk aforesaid. 

Frs. Salter, City Clerk. 

[seal.] 



Commercial Agency, U. S. A., 

San Juan del Norte. 

I, the undersigned, Commercial Agent of the United States of 
America for the port of San Juan del Norte and the dependencies 
thereof, do hereby certify that Francis Salter, to me personally known, 
the City Clerk of this place, this clay came before me and acknow- 
ledged the foregoing signature to be his own hand and act. 

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office 
this twelfth day of November, A.D. 1858. 

(Signed) B. Squire Cornell, 

[seal.] U. S. Commercial Agent. 

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